Investment in large-scale wind and solar farms in Australia has reached its highest level in six years, with $9bn committed in 2024, according to industry data.
The Clean Energy Council said financial commitments were made for 4.3 gigawatts of new renewable capacity last year. It was the highest level of investment since 2018, when there was a rush of construction to meet a national 2020 renewable energy target.
The Albanese government has been criticised for not being on track to meet a target of 82% of electricity coming from renewable energy by 2030. But Kane Thornton, the chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, said the latest figures were in line with what was needed to achieve the 2030 target, and reflected policy support from federal and state governments.
Investment in major renewable energy developments has increased since the government introduced a taxpayer-underwritten scheme promised to deliver at least 23 gigawatts of renewable energy and 9GW of energy storage capacity, particularly batteries. The federal parliament passed legislation on Thursday making the expanded underwriting program, in operation since late 2023 and known as the capacity investment scheme, law.
Thornton said the investment results last year showed clean energy investment was “getting back on track”.
“It’s critical that we don’t lose focus or change direction now on a strategy that is working,” he said. “Investors need stable and predictable long-term policy settings to provide them with the confidence to invest their money in these critical infrastructure assets which Australia urgently needs.”
The Greens claimed credit for turning Labor’s renewable energy underwriting program into legislation. The party negotiated to include it as an amendment in an otherwise largely procedural bill. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said it had “Dutton proofed” the scheme as it meant it was likely to continue if the Coalition won power but did not have enough Senate votes to overturn it. “The Greens have stopped Peter Dutton’s latest attack on renewables,” Bandt said.
A spokesperson for the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the amendment secured the delivery of the government’s “reliable renewables plan”.
Seven large-scale renewable developments totalling 1.6 GW received financial commitment stage in the final quarter last year. According to the Clean Energy Council report, this pace – about 1.5 GW per quarter – needs to continue for Australia to reach the 82% target.
About 4 GW of energy storage capacity, such as large-scale batteries, was committed last year. The Woolooga battery system in Queensland, which can store 222 megawatts of energy for nearly three hours, was the largest development.
after newsletter promotion
Alison Reeve, the deputy energy and climate program director at the Grattan Institute, said reaching the 2030 target would require new transmission lines and a “tremendous amount of building”.
“What really matters here is that we get good at building this stuff on time and on budget,” she said, adding it was a challenging task given the high competition for trades and skilled workers due to demand in housing and infrastructure.
She said international competition for components necessary for solar panels and wind turbine blades was also an issue. “A whole lot of other countries are also trying to build a lot of stuff in a hurry,” Reeve said.
The year ended on a high for renewable electricity generation, with wind, solar and hydro power delivering a record 46% of supply in the final quarter. Coal power dipped below 50% of the total for the first time, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator.
Reeve said the renewable energy industry and investors appeared to have gained a “rhythm” under policies including the capacity investment scheme, but uncertainties remained.
“It’s very unclear, if there was a change of government federally, what that would mean for the capacity investment scheme,” she said. “The other risk that’s on the horizon is that there’s still a reasonable amount of uncertainty over when the coal-fired power stations are going to close.”